An Unexpected Reunion
by InnerAdult
Summary: Oh god why do I suck at titles? And summaries apparently. Anyway this is Morwen, set in series four just after episode nine Gwen leaves Camelot and bumps into Morgana.
1. Chapter 1

Gwen stumbled through the forest, dragging the cart that now contained her whole life awkwardly behind her. She was no longer upset, she was just angry. It had taken her a while to realise but now she saw exactly what had happened. She thought he had loved her, thought he genuinely cared about her but now all she could think was how idiotic she had been. Arthur had been looking for any opportunity to get rid of her for months.

Gwen cursed herself, she felt so stupid for listening to him. She wondered just how many times Arthur had reassured her, sworn to her that the rumours about him and Merlin were just that. Silly stories created by his enemies to try and slate him. She wished she could say she had always had her doubts, but the worst thing was she had believed him. He had seemed so sincere, so loving, so tender. Morgana had been right. Gwen stopped herself quickly. She was not going down that train of thought, she had sworn to herself that she had moved on from Morgana, she was not about to go back on that just because things with Arthur hadn't worked out.

Merlin had come to say goodbye to her. She had seen him, standing, watching her pack up her life. He hadn't said anything or even tried to approach her. She didn't blame him. What was he supposed to say? He probably felt guilty. Probably knew that the only reason she had been banished was because of him and Arthur. Gwen took some comfort in this.

This was perfect for Arthur she thought angrily. He had had a girlfriend, a fiancee even for long enough to dispel rumors about his sexuality. Then she had been disloyal to him and he had had her banished. People would understand if he took several months, maybe even years to try and recover from her betrayal and all the while he and Merlin could continue just as they always had.

Gwen wondered how they slept at night. Tears stung her eyes and threatened to spill down her cheeks but she brushed them away and continued resolutely onwards. It was then that she noticed it. For a split second she could not identify it, but as it moved forwards she realised. It was a griffin. Gwen turned and began to run but the griffin had speed that far exceeded her own and soon it was practically on top of her. It lashed out cutting her back and knocking hard against her head.

Exhausted and miserable Gwen collapsed to the ground and was just about to give herself up to the claws of the griffin when she felt herself shoved roughly out of the way. All she remembered next was a flash of light before she drifted into unconsciousness.

When Gwen awoke she was surprised to find herself inside. She tried to sit up but felt her head spin so slumped back into the bed. On doing so she found that her back was incredibly sore where the griffin had clawed at it. Reaching back to assess to damage she found that her wounds had been cleaned and bandaged. She propped up her pillows and sat up to assess her surroundings.

She was in a small cottage. The bed was in the same room as the kitchen and a large table was covered with books and bottles containing odd looking substances. A fire was simmering in the grate and the place had an odd smell that reflected the many potions and concoctions left lying in odd places around the place. Just then the door opened and in walked a woman carrying a bundle of firewood. To Gwen's horror she realised it was Morgana.

Gwen sat dumbly. The last time she had seen her had been when Morgana betrayed Arthur and Uther and took over Camelot with the help of Morgause. She had changed a lot since then. No longer confident and somewhat noble looking despite the evil path she had taken, Morgana appeared a shell of her former self. She looked broken, tortured. Gwen felt a pang of something she couldn't identify at the sight of the woman who had at one point been such an important part of her life.

"You're awake." Morgana smiled. Gwen felt her stomach twist in odd knots. How she had adored that smile. How she had craved it. Even after Morgana had left it had stayed imprinted in her mind. Seeing it again brought everything she had felt all those years ago up to the surface. It was raw and it hurt and she had never been happier to see anyone in her life.

"Why am I here?" she asked, attempting to keep her face neutral.

"I found you in the woods. You were being attacked by a griffin. I fought it off and brought you back."

Clinging to the memory of the pain Morgana had caused in Camelot, Gwen said "I need to leave."

Morgana's face fell. "You can't possibly Gwen, you're still too weak."

She glided across the room to perch at the end of Gwen's bed.

"I am not staying with you Morgana a second longer than I have to. You have caused a ridiculous amount of pain and suffering to the people of Camelot. My friends, people I knew, dead or mourning because of your acts. I will not co-operate with you or tell you anything no matter what you threaten, I have nothing left to live for so kill me if you wish. It would have been less hassle for you is you had left me to die."

Morgana looked as though she was in physical pain and Gwen fought the urge to hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay.

"I'm sorry, Gwen." said Morgana.

Gwen looked at her. This was the last thing she had expected. She had thought that Morgana would be angry, torture her, kill her on the spot. Having seen for herself the results of Morgana's destructive streak she had come to picture her as a cold hearted killer. She found herself unable to assess how best to handle this situation so she just sat.

"I'm sorry about the people I killed." Morgana continued, "They didn't deserve to die but this is war and war has casualties."

"It doesn't need to be war." Gwen said, "It never needed to be."

"Yes it did." said Morgana shortly, "There was no other way. What I'm really sorry for Gwen is how much I've hurt you, I know there were probably better ways to go about getting you out there but I just couldn't think of any that would show you what he was like."

"What?" Gwen spluttered, "Is this your fault?"

Morgana stared at her feet. "I brought Lancelot back from the dead. I gave him an enchanted bracelet to give to you. That's why you couldn't resist him"

Gwen stared at Morgana. "You are unbelievable." she said, "Unbelievable and insane and totally unforgivable."

Gwen forced herself to her feet and made for the door.

"Gwen, wait!" called Morgana.

"For what!" Gwen shouted turning to face Morgana. "What can you possibly have left to say. You got me thrown out of my home and for what? I mean how did you think this would work, Morgana? Did you think I would just leave Camelot and suddenly be ready to go to war with you? What Arthur has done is awful but what you have done is so much worse."

"Is it?" said Morgana, getting up from the bed. This was the Morgana Gwen remembered. Fierce and formidable and utterly intimidating. "Remind me Gwen what exactly have I done?"

"You killed people."

"It's a war, Gwen. Besides the number of your people I have killed dwarfs in comparison to the number of my people killed by Arthur and Uther."

"You tried to take over Camelot! You tried to rule _my_ home as a dictatorship."

"A monarchy is always a dictatorship! I would have made a far better ruler than Uther did. Once I was settled in power everything would have died down. I would have ruled fairly."

"You were going to kill me and all the knights, not to mention Arthur."

"I offered you immunity and if the knights had joined me they could have had it too."

"And Arthur?"

"Why are you so loyal to him? Why are you so loyal to Uther? Uther killed your father Gwen and Arthur pretended to love you so he could carry on sleeping with Merlin. He threw you out of your home without a second thought as soon as the opportunity came up because it suited him to do so. All I did was show you what would have happened sooner or later anyway. Do you honestly think either of these men deserve to rule Camelot?"

"You're right." Gwen said quietly. She pulled out a chair and sat down. "They don't Morgana. They have been unfair to your people and I owe them no personal loyalty but you are not the better choice. Arthur may have wronged me, but he is not a bad king. He tries to do what's right for the people. Between you and Arthur I am afraid that Arthur is more suited to be king."

"I agree." said Morgana, "Which is why I need you. I need you to keep me grounded, to stop me taking things too far. Morgause was the only person who ever accepted me for who I was, her sister and a sorcerer, when she met me I was right for the throne but she has led me down a path of death and destruction. I need someone to help me get back to the person I used to be."

"You want me to help you be a better queen?"

Morgana nodded and sat anxiously waiting for a response.

"Why should I trust you?" Gwen asked after a few minutes.

"You probably shouldn't. All I know is that you loved me once. Before Lancelot and before Arthur it was me and you. You made me a better person and I know there was something about me that made you happy or you never would have stayed with me for so long."

Gwen reached out a hand and cupped Morgana's cheek in her hand. "I did love you once. I think I still do. And Arthur has wronged me."

She leant forward a placed a light, chaste kiss on Morgana's lips.

"But I can't get past the things you have done, or not to the point where I would happily fight to see you ruling Camelot. So I will give you a choice. You can have me. I will stay with you, here, forever, on the condition that you stop trying to kill Arthur and take over. Or you can continue on your path of death and destruction but you can continue alone."

Gwen allowed her hand to drop and studied Morgana's face.

"Can I have some time to think?" Morgana asked.

"I won't be ready to leave until morning. You can have until then to decide but know this. If I leave I am never coming back. Not to you, not to Arthur, not to Camelot. I want to be free of everything that has happened since my father's death. I want a fresh start."

Morgana nodded and got up. She put the logs she had brought in onto the fire and headed towards the door.

"I'm going for a walk." she said, "you should be able to find anything you need in the kitchen area."

And with that she swept from the house leaving Gwen alone with her thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

Morgana left the cottage, closing the door carefully behind her. Then she walked. She didn't know where she was going, just that she needed to clear her head. For months her only thoughts had been how to get Gwen to leave Camelot and join her. How to make Gwen see how corrupt both Arthur and Uther were, to make her see that Morgana was what was best for both Gwen and Camelot. She had thought if she could just get Gwen out here, just get her to listen then she would join her. This was not something she had counted on. She knew there was no chance of getting Gwen to back down. Gwen was going to force her to choose.

Morgana made her way through the endless trees, they seemed to be getting closer and closer together, making her feel trapped and constricted in amongst them. She stopped for a second to assess where she had come too. She had come to know these woods only too well and was soon able to establish where the nearest clearing was. She made her way swiftly towards it and slumped into a ball in the middle. Hugging her knees to her chest she began rocking slowly back and forwards. What was she going to do? What would she choose? How would she choose? She straightened her legs out in front of her. Normally she acted on impulse, she would have a gut instinct and go with it immediately, addressing the consequences later. When Gwen had posed this to her all she had felt was numbness.

She was going to have to reason this out. She began with why she wanted to stay. This was fairly easy and had one huge pro. Gwen. Gwen was all that Morgana had been able to think about ever since she chose Arthur over Morgana all those months ago. No even before that. When Morgana had been plotting with Morgause, losing Gwen had always been her biggest fear. When she discovered her magic, all she could think about was how to tell Gwen and whether she would accept her. When they first discovered their mutual feelings she had thought of nothing but the feeling of utter elation she experienced whenever they kissed. Whenever they touched. Whenever Gwen was near. How far they had come, Morgana thought with a grim smirk, now Gwen was scared at the sight of her. Expected Morgana to kill her, torture her for information whilst Morgana had felt a desperate need not to blink in case when she opened her eyes Gwen was no longer there.

When she thought of Gwen she still thought of the young girl who brought her flowers when she was sleeping badly, who nursed her when she was sick. She remembered how Gwen used to look at her, like she couldn't believe she existed. She had been so innocent, so sweet and caring. Morgana swallowed back tears and focused on the task in hand. She had to make a choice.

Choosing Gwen would mean abandoning Camelot. Abandoning the throne. This meant confronting the question Morgana had been avoiding for months. Why did she want the throne? Her immediate thought was to save the people of Camelot from an evil tyrant. No. This was the line she had been feeding herself. This was stupid. Perhaps justifiable during Uther's reign, but this was Arthur. Arthur who had treated her as a sister years before he knew she was one. Arthur who Morgana had always secretly known would make an excellent king. He had wronged Gwen, but he had been faced with what he must have seen as a desperate situation and when Morgana thought how she had dealt with desperate situations she found herself in no place to judge. Clearly she did not want the throne for any reason so selfless as for the good of the people.

So it was because she was entitled to it. Was she? Really did she think she was entitled to rule Camelot? Had Uther admitted she was his daughter she still would not have been queen. She had no more right to the throne than Arthur. Maybe it was because she had been so shunned by Uther. Maybe she was jealous of not being acknowledged. Maybe she felt she was entitled to recognition.

That couldn't be right. She had no desire to be recognised as the daughter of Uther Pendragon. He was an evil tyrant who persecuted her kind. Yet she had felt a pang of something at this idea. Maybe she had been jealous of Arthur in some way.

It hit her with a jolt. Gwen. It always came back to Gwen. She was jealous of Gwen. She wanted what Arthur had and what Arthur had had was a father, the throne and Gwen. She could not take Arthur's father and she could not take Gwen. Maybe this was why she had fixated on the throne. Still this seemed unlikely. The real question she decided was whether she had wanted Gwen with her to help her claim the throne or whether she just wanted Gwen with her.

The problem with choosing Gwen though was that it condemned her to a life like this. Living in the middle of nowhere. Poor. Making no real difference to the struggle of her kind. She had pictured herself as the leader of a rebellion, a revolution that brought magic back to Camelot, made it once again acceptable, ended the suffering. Ended the persecution.

Morgana sighed and crossed her legs. On the other side of the clearing was a pile dead of leaves. She whispered something under her breath and the leaves sprang to life. Absent mindedly Morgana moved her arm steadily causing them to dip and dive and float. The last time she had done this had been for Gwen. She used to love watching spring blossoms or daisies floating and weaving and dancing through the air. Morgana remembered the first time she had shown it to her vividly. They had taken a picnic out of Camelot. They ate slowly and when they had finished Morgana had lain against a tree, stroking Gwen's hair. Gwen had made daisy chains and after a while began singing a song her mother had taught her when she was young. Something to do with the plants and the fairies of the forrest joining hands to dance, dance for my sweetheart and me. Morgana had opened her eyes and with a casual flick of her wrist caused Gwen's daisy chains to dance in time to the music.

Morgana wondered who she was kidding, she knew all the words. As she watched dead leaves move on her command she sang quietly to herself; "_And down in the meadow all the fairies and the flowers join hands to dance, dance for my sweetheart and me._" Behind her there was a rustling and a second voice joined Morgana's; "_They dance through the meadow, through the woods and over seas, never stop a'dancing, dancing for my sweetheart and me_."

Morgana didn't need to turn around to know that Gwen had followed her. She allowed the leaves to drop into a heap on the ground but remained motionless. She knew she had made her decision, but telling Gwen would make it so final. A very large part of her wanted to cling onto this moment for as long as possible.


	3. Chapter 3

Gwen stopped singing and watched Morgana's leaves land in a heap on the ground. She had come to tell Morgana that she was retracting her offer.

Once Morgana had left the cottage Gwen had got up and hobbled over to the kitchen area to get herself a drink. With Morgana out of the room she felt her ability to think straight rush back. It was horrible. She couldn't believe what she had offered. She had offered to stay, there, with Morgana. What had she been thinking? She tried to convince herself that she had known Morgana would choose Camelot over her, tried to convince herself that it was all just a clever ruse to force Morgana to let her go. But it hadn't been. She had wanted to stay. She had wanted to live in this tiny cottage in the middle of nowhere with Morgana for the rest of her life. Without her presence, all the terror Gwen had felt when Morgana first walked through the door came flooding back, spreading rapidly through her stomach. She ran out the door and threw up.

Then she had hated herself. She slid onto the ground and revelled in her stupidity. She had offered to stay with Morgana. Forever. _Morgana_. The worst part was Morgana hadn't said no. She was thinking about it. Gwen leapt to her feet. She had to find Morgana. She had to tell her she had had a moment of madness and that she would not stay. This was bound to make Morgana angry, but not as angry as she would be were Gwen to wait until Morgana made her decision. What if she chose her? Gwen felt an odd fluttering in her stomach. She ignored it and set off to find Morgana. As she walked she repeated to herself, _I have moved on,_ _I have moved on_, _I have moved on._

She had walked for some time before coming across the clearing. Morgana was sat, singing quietly to herself and enchanting leaves. Gwen had felt her heart swell. Without thinking she continued the next verse. _They dance through the meadow, through the woods and over seas, never stop a'dancing, dancing for my sweetheart and me_."

Morgana got carefully to her feet and stood watching Gwen intently. Her face was expressionless but Gwen knew she was wondering why she had followed her.

"I've made my decision." said Morgana cautiously, her face still maddeningly unreadable.

Gwen found herself incapable of speaking. She knew she had to tell Morgana she would not stay before she told her her decision but she could not get the words out.

"I choose you."

Gwen stared. The first feeling that came to her was elation. It was an impossible to suppress joy at suddenly being given the one thing she had been unable to stop herself craving for several years. Then came the rational thought followed closely by another wave of nausea.

"I can't stay." she blurted it out and shot her eyes to the ground to avoid Morgana's expression. "I came to tell you. I shouldn't have offered. I don't know what I was thinking."

Morgana said nothing. She just stood. Eventually Gwen was compelled to glance up and try and gauge Morgana's thoughts. She was smiling.

"You're joking." Morgana practically beamed. It was at this point that Gwen truly saw what Morgana had become. She was not evil. But she was not the woman Gwen had known. She was destroyed. Every person she had ever loved was either dead or had betrayed her. She was broken, verging on unfixable. Everything was reflected in that smile. She was so far into denial that she wasn't even slightly aware of it. She was incapable of believing that Gwen would not stay.

"I am so sorry." said Gwen. She walked briskly forwards and enveloped Morgana in a tight embrace. The two sunk to the ground and Gwen cradled Morgana in her arms. Morgana was shaking violently. Seeing her like this was killing Gwen. For the first time there was nothing she wanted more than to stay, to help the one person left who she truly loved but seeing her like this was taking everything Gwen had not to run, not to hide not to break down herself. It was killing her and she knew it would be unfair of her to pretend she could deal with trying to save Morgana.

"I'm sorry for everything that has happened to you." she whispered into Morgana's ear, "I'm sorry about Uther, and about Morgause and I'm sorry I didn't help you. What I'm most sorry about is that I won't help you."

Morgana pushed Gwen roughly away from her.

"You're not sorry," she hissed, "If you were sorry you wouldn't leave me."

"I can't cope!" Gwen gave up and let tears stream down her face, "I can't see you like this, Morgana it's killing me!"

Morgana stared at her. "Why are you here? Why didn't you run, why did you come and tell me you wouldn't stay. You could have just run."

"Because I wanted you! I still want you. But I can't be what you need I'm not strong enough. You're too far gone and I can't help you."

"Then it's not fair to ask you." Suddenly Morgana was on her feet. She was icy and curt and terrifying once more. She spun on her heel and began walking back towards the cottage.

"Morgana, wait..." Gwen began. She had no idea what she was going to say, just that she couldn't bear Morgana to go.

"Leave!" Morgana screamed, losing all composure once again, "If I see you around here again, I _will_ kill you."

"Do!" Gwen half screamed half cried, "Kill me, kill me right now! Morgana I can't leave you but I can't stay and I don't know what to do."

Morgana turned a looked at her. "Everything's ruined." she said quietly, staring off into the distance. She seemed suddenly like the Morgana Gwen remembered. Sophisticated and noble and oh so beautiful. "We've both lost everything. Our fathers are dead. Our brothers don't want to know us. We have been exiled from our homes and we have no where to go. I'm not saying it's his fault but everything has gone down hill since Merlin arrived and I just wish we could go back to the way things were. There are so many things that are lost to both of us forever, but no matter how completely spoiled our lives and our relationship is, I'm here and you're here and I think it would be stupid to throw that away without even trying to help each other."

Morgana walked over to were Gwen was sat and sunk to the floor next to her. She took Gwen's hand and said in a barely audible whisper; "Please stay with me."

Gwen watched Morgana's fingers gently stroking her own. She knew that this was stupid, that there were so many reasons she should leave but what Morgana had said struck something deep inside her. There was a logic to it too. This, the two of them alive and in the same place and not trying to kill each other, was the only real thing that either of them had left. She had left Camelot with an idea to begin a fresh life, cutting all ties with her old life, but Morgana was a link to a time when she was happy and she found that right now she wanted to cling to that link for as long as possible.

Gwen cupped Morgana's cheek with her free hand. "You're right." she said, "If it doesn't work I'll leave. If it's too much I'll leave. But because of right now, because it's all I've got, I'll stay."

"Thank-you." Morgana muttered and the two made their way back to the cottage. The whole way back they did not speak but their hands remained firmly interlocked.


End file.
